Glove



Dec. 8, 1953 E. L.. BoBBlT-r 2,661,476

GLOVE Filed Nov. so, 1951 E E- 4- INVENTOR Ernei L. alv

BYMMMAQM? ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 8, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEGLOVE Ernest L. Bobbitt, Wheeling, W. Va.' Application November so,1951, serial No. 259,211

8 Claims.

. This invention relates to gloves, and more particularly to reversibletwo-thumb work gloves.

One of the principal problems in the manufacture of gloves is to shapethe blanks so that with a minimum number of such blanks sui cientfullness will be obtained in the fingers without unduly increasing thewidth of the glove through the palm and wrist. In dress gloves whereincost is not a controlling factor this result is attained through the useof extra blanks,

termed fourchettes, which are tapered inserts set into adjacent sideedges of the fingers. Since the principal item of cost in glovemanufacture is that of the hand labor required to sew together thevarious blanks and since the use of fourchettes increases such labor,fourchettes generally are not used in work gloves.

Various constructions are used in work gloves for obtaining, with aminimum number of blanks to reduce labor costs, the aforementionednecesouter side and base of the thumb. In this construction, the fingerportions of the three blanks forming the backs of the middle, ring, andlittle fingers of the glove are wider than the corresponding fingerportions of the first mentioned blank. Hence, when the linger portionsof these three blanks are stitched to the corresponding finger portionsof the aforementioned'first blank,

the necessary fullness is obtained in the fingers without undue wideningof the palm. For the same reason,

corresponding front portion. As a result of .this construction,longitudinally along the side edges and around the ends of the fingersare not disposed centrally of such edges, i. e. midway ofthe fingerthickness, but instead are disposed nearer the palm side of the fingers.posed on the wearing surface of the fingers with consequent rapidshortening of-the life of the glove when in use.

In order to greatly lengthen theylife of work that portion of the firstblank formn ing the back of the forefinger is widerthan the however, theseams which runv which have two thumbs, one for each face of the glove,so that the glove may be worn interfchangeably on either hand. Hence,whenv the gloves have become worn on one face, they may be shifted fromone hand to the other and the other, unworn face exposed to wear untilthe entire glove is worn. out. Gloves of this type present the sameproblem of suitably shaping and of minimizing the number of blanks toobtain suliicient fullness in the fingers without undue width in thepalmv and wrist, and to maintain both labor and material wastage at aminimum.

At the present time the reversible two-thumb work glove most commonlymanufactured is made from a first blank that is folded to form bothpalms, both sides of the forefinger, both sides of the little finger,and one side of the rmiddle and ring fingers. Additionally, this firstblank has cut-out, out-turned tabs forming the inside of both thumbs.The other sides of the middle and ring fingers are formed by a secondblank which is stitched to the first. Two identilcal thumb blanks arestitched to the thumb tabs and` to the edges of the cut-out portion ofthe 4first blank to form the outer sides and bases of the two thumbs. Inthis construction the middle and ring finger portions of the first blankare narrower than the corresponding portions of the second blank used toform the opposite sides of ,these two fingers, in order to obtain thenecessary fullness in these lingers without undue increase in the widthof the glove through the palm and wrist. The result is that the seamsrunningalong the side edges and around the ends of the middle and ringfingers are again offset toward one face of the glove with consequentexposure `to wear. The same offset exposed seams Iappear on theforefinger and little finger on the same face of the gloved because thefullness in these fingers is obtained 'by making their opposite-sideportions of the first blank Hence, such seams are ex' gloves, reversiblegloves have been developed of different width in order to obtainthe'nece'ssary fullness in these fingers. Additionally, the other faceof the vglove has an exposed seam running transversely across the baseof the middle and ring fingers, an area of greatest wear.

, It will thusbe seen that in conventional twothumb work gloves thereare exposed seams at the areas of greatest wear of the glove. Further-Amore, because ofthe fact that the finger portions of the` blanks formingone side of the fingers are narrower than the iin'ger portions of theblank forming the other side of the ngers, it is very difficult for aseamstress to sew the fingerV blanks together around vtheir peripheriesbecause such blanks cannot be disposed in contiguous overlying :tiguousrelationship.

the linger seams are not exposed on either face of the glove.

It is another oiojooi of this invention to pro-v vide a reversibletwo-thumb workglove which is devoid of transverse seams in the fingersor palms.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a reversibletwo-thumb work glove hav.- ing a minimum number of symmetrical oridentil.o al. corresponding Ilillanksfor fforrning.h both sides of theglove, whereby the ngerv portions ofsuch .blanks may be. stitchedtogether alongthein edges while such blanks are disposed in overlyingcon- It is still another objeet .this invention to provide areversibletwo-thumb work glove having a minimum numberof-blanks. thatcan be cutoutwith a minimumof material wastage.

It is still another Object 0f thisinvention to .provide an improved.reversible two-thumb work glove -which does not. employ fourchettes, inwhich the linger seams are disposed intermediate the working faces vofthe lingers, and .in which only for forming the outer sides of the twothumbs and two seams appear on the workingfaces of the y gloves, suchseams running lengthwise of the 4palm of the glove. It is still anotherobject of this invention-to provide a reversible two-thumb Work 'glovefor .which the trainingtime for a fabricating seamstress is about threemonths, and. which canbe sewed up by a trained seamstress in less timethan that required toV sew up .conventional type reversibletwo-thumbfwork gloves.

4 are adapted to be turned outwardly (as is shown by the tab on theright in Figure 1) to form the inner sides of the thumb. Two identicalblanks 22 and 24 have end portions 26 for forming both sides of the ringlinger, and somewhat tapered portions 28 for forming lengthwise sectionsof both palms adjacent the base of the ring linger. A fourth blank 30 issymmetrical about a median line- 32 and has end portions 34 for'formingboth Sides of the-little'inger. This blank 34 also has tapering portions36 for forming lengthwise sections of both palms and an edge of theglove, ad- .jacent the base of the little linger. Two identical blanks,which may be termed fifth and sixth blanks,"38 and' 40 respectively,have portions 42 portions 44 for forming the bases of the thumbs.Itfwillbe noted that the first blank I0 is transversely wider throughits finger-forming portions Maud I6 thanthrough its. palm-,formingportions I8.. In other words, the sideV edges of the blank l0. areinwardly offset along .the palm- .forming portions I 8. The same is trueofthe second, third, and fourth blanks. Hence, when these blanksarestitched, together, as later described, the fingers of the resultingglove have the. necessaryfullness while the palm and wrist portion ofthe glove are sufficiently narrow to fit the. .hand properly withoutbunching of excess material in the palm.. Likewise, it will be noted.that-the, central portions of the thumb blanks .are-transversely. widerthan their end portions 42 a nd...44.in. order to, provide fullnessabout the thumb`V knuckle or base joint of the thumb witholltundesirable fullness about the base of the thumb, i. e. adjacentthewrist.

. It-alsov will be noted that all of the blanks have straight end edges45, opposite their respective finger-forming portions, which straightedges are It isafurther object of this inventionto provide an improvedreversible two-thumb work glove `that will provide ,one hundredrpercent-.more wear than a `conventional single-thumb Work glove at 25 to30% more cost, such increase incost result.- ing largely fromthefactthat bothfaces of the glove are of double ply as contrasted to.single ply for the backs of single thumbwork gloves.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and accompanying drawings,.in:which:

Figure 1 illustrates -a set of blanks for constructing a glove.`embodying thisinvention.

Figure 2 is a side perspective. view of aglove embodying this invention,taken from the thumb side thereof. AFigure-3 is a palm view of a gloveembodying this invention` f Figure 4 is an end view of the fingers of aglove embodying thisinvention.V

' Referring now tothe drawingsthere is` shown in Figure l a set ofblanks of appropriate material, such as canvas or othersuitableworkffabric, for constructinga glove in accordance with thisinvention. A iirst-blank I0,- which isfsymmetrical about a-lengthwisemedian line I2, embodiesend portions I 4 for forming both sides Y of.the forelinger, end portions I6 Afor forming bothsidesbf `the-middleYfinger, andportionsA I8 for'forming lengthwise-sections of both palmsand an edge-.of

the Yglove adjacent the` thumbs. Each of VVthese aligned, when Vtheblanks are stitched together as later described, so kthat awrist-forming cuir 41 may be attached thereto.

Inaccordance with the usual practice for sewing up, work gloves, theglove` blanks I 0, 22, 24, 30, 38, and 40 are stitched together withconcealed seams, the stitches 46 of which may be seen bythe pulled-apartportion of the seam 48 shown in Figure 3.. Hence, to assemble and stitchthe, blanks together to form a glove, the iirst blank I0 is folded uponits median line I2, for example-rearward of the plane of the drawing ofvFigure l, softhat each half thereof overlies the other and identicalhalf. Each vhalf of the thus folded `blank I0 is thereupon stitchedtogether around. the edges of the finger-forming portionsl4and I 6. Thesecond and third blanks 22 and 24 .are then superimposed, for example.with theblank 24 on top, and stitched together around the edges oftheir finger forming portions 26. The fourth blank30 is folded upon itsmedian `line 32 andthe identical halves of the thusfoldedblank stitchedtogether around the edges ofthe ringer forming portions a4. The length'-wise straight edge 50,01v one of the palm forming portions, ,I8 of thefirst blank I0 is thereupon turned up. and stitched to .the likewiseturned up straight edge 52. of the palm forming portionn28 o f the thirdblank 24. .In similar fashion the edge 5 4 .of the other palm formingportion I8 of the msi blank It is stitched to the odge 5s of 'the'secondblank 22. Likewise, the lengthwise straight edges 5.8 and 60Hof the palm`forming portions 36 of the fourth blank 30 are stitchedkto,thecorresponding edges 62 and B4 of the 'third and second blanks 24and 22. The thumb tabs are thereupon turned out, as shown by theright-hand tab in Figure 1, and the correspondlng thumb blanks 38 and 40superimposed thereon and stitched around the edges of their portions 42to the tabs. The edges of the tab portions 44 are turned up and stitchedto the correspondingly turned up edges 66 of the cut-out portions of thefirst blank I0.

Upon completion of the several stitching operations, all of the stitchedand the thus secured edges of the blanks will be exposed. Hence, theglove must be turned inside out to provide concealed seams and result inthe finished product shown in Figures 2 and 3. Thereafter, or before theturning operation, one edge of the wrist cuff 41 may be stitched in anyappropriate fashion to the aligned straight edges 45 of the blanks.

In order to prevent the unused thumb from dangling or flapping aboutwhen the glove is in use, there is provided about the base of each thumban elastic strip 6B, the opposite ends of which are preferably stitchedwithin the seams 1l at the opposite sides of the base of the thumb, i.e. the seams joining the edges of the portions 44 of the thumb blanks tothe edges B6 of the cut-out portions of the rst blank. Hence, the unusedthumb may be folded outwardly and tucked between the elastic strip andthe base of the thumb to securely confine such thumb while the glove isin use.

It will be particularly noted that, because both faces of the glove areformed from essentially identical blanks, the seams l2 joining the blankportions forming the opposite sides of the fingers extend midway alongthe side edges and around the ends of the fingers, as shown best inFigure 4, so that such seams are not exposed on either wearing face ofthe glove when the latter is in use. Additionally, it will be noted thatthe only seams exposed on the palms of the glove are the two lengthwiseseams 48 and 14 joining the side edges of the palm-forming portions ofthe blanks I0, 22, 24, and 30 and extending from each side of the baseof the ring finger to the wrist of the glove.

It will thus be seen that the objects of this invention have been fullyand elfectively accomplished. It will be realized, however, that variouschanges may be made in the specific example of the glove illustrated anddescribed for the purpose of disclosing the principles of thisinvention, without departing from such principles. Therefore, thisinvention includes all modifications which are encompassed within thespirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

l. A reversible two-thumb glove comprising: a rst blank forming theforeiinger, middle finger, the inner sides of both thumbs, and portionsof both palms; second and third identical blanks each secured toopposite edges of said first blank and forming the ring finger andportions of both palms; a fourth blank having opposite edges thereofsecured to said third and fourth blanks and forming the little fingerand the balance of both palms; and fifth and sixth identical blankssecured to said first blank and forming the outer sides and bases of thetwo thumbs.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 including a seventh blank securedtoall the six other blanks and forming the wrist.

3. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the lines of securement ofthe blanks run lengthwise of the glove.

4. A reversible two-thumb glove comprising: a

forefinger, middle finger, the inner sides of both thumbs, and portionsof both palms formed from a single folded blank; a ring finger andportions of both palms formed from two identical blanks; a little fingerand the balance of both palms formed from a single folded blank; and theouter sides and bases of both thumbs formed from two identical blanks.

5. As an article of manufacture for making a reversible two-thumb glove,a set of blanks comprising: a rst blank symmetrical about a lengthwisemedian line and adapted to be folded thereon and have its edges stitchedtogether around one end and partly along one side to form theforefinger, the middle finger, the inner sides of both thumbs, andportions of both palms; second and third identical blanks adapted to bedisposed in overlying relation, have their edges stitched togetheraround one end and partly along both sides, and each to be stitched to aseparate side edge of said rst blank to form the ring finger andportions of both palms; a fourth blank symmetrical about a median lineand adapted to be folded thereon, to have its edges stitched togetheraround one end and partly along one side, and to have its separate sideedges stitched to said second and third blanks, respectively, to formthe little finger and the balance of both palms; and two additionalidentical blanks, each adapted to be stitched along its edges to saidfirst blank to form a separate thumb.

6. A reversible two-thumb glove comprising: a fir-st blank symmetricalabout a lengthwise median line and folded thereon with its edgesstitched together around one end and partly along one side to form theforenger, middle finger, and lengthwise sections of bothpalms, and eachhalf of the folded blank having an outfolded cut-out tab to form theinner side of |one thumb; second and third overlying identical blankswith their edges stitched together around one end and partly along bothsides to form the ring finger and lengthwise sections of both palms; afourth blank symmetrical about a lengthwise median line and foldedthereon with its edges stitched together around one end and partly alongone side to form the little finger and the balance of both palms, all ofsaid blanks being stitched together along the side edges of their saidpalm sections; and fifth and sixth identical blanks having their edgesstitched to the edges of the respective tabs of said iirst blank and tothe edges of the corresponding cutout portions thereof to form the outersides and bases of the thumbs.

7. The structure defined in claim 6 in which all of the blanks have endedges in alignment at the wrist and including a cuff blank stitchedalong one edge to said end edges to form the wrist.

8. The structure defined in claim 6 in which the palm sections of thefirst, second, third, and fourth blanks are of less width than thefinger sections thereof.

ERNEST L. BOBBI'I'I.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,027,688 Casler May 28, 1912 1,156,517 Baskin Oct. 12, 19151,271,110 Zeigler July 2, 1918 1,496,639 Hunnell June 3, 1924 2,427,170Wells i Sept. 9, 1947

